Exhibitions

Portal For(e) the Ephemeral Passage

A graphic with curved shapes in brown tones over which is the text "Portal For(e) the Ephemeral Passage"
An interdisciplinary exhibition that amplifies Black feminist voices in contemporary art and performance.
Jun 10, 2022 – Aug 14, 2022

Curated by jaamil olawale kosoko, Portal For(e) the Ephemeral Passage invites audiences to imagine new worlds through a summer of installations and interconnected events building on Black feminist knowledge, queer theory, and sacred rituals of intimacy and wellness. The project is the culmination of kosoko’s Artist Residency Award and three-year collaboration with the Wexner Center.

Foregrounding collectivity and embodied practice, the interdisciplinary exhibition presents new works by kosoko, nora chipaumire, Jennifer Harge and Devin Drake, Dana Michel, Jasmine Murrell, and Keioui Keijaun Thomas. Portal For(e) also consists of community events, a film series, performances, and an Instagram Live series. A preview party and dub reggae night take place at the Wex on Thursday, June 9, kicking off a week of opening programs.

In kosoko’s own words, “the chameleonic nature of this collective research has always been about exploring various worldings of freedom through performance and social practice. I have been drawn closer to artists who have inspired my thinking and exploration into the shapeshifting principles that Black queer people employ to survive and heal. If fugitivity can be defined as escape without exit, then Portal For(e) is Black admission with or without entrance.”

Watch for details and additional content on this page.

Dana Michel is shirtless and sitting at the top of three steps beyond a doorway. She is being filmed by Tracy Maurice, who is sitting against a wall in the forefront.
US Premiere
past Exhibitions

Dana Michel and Tracy Maurice Lay them all down

Tue, Jul 12, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
Gallery space lit with purple light. Multisized wooden speakers are stacked on top of each other in the back right corner. Behind them is a projection of nora chipaumire with a black scull covering her face and pattered headscarf. There are wooden chairs scattered throughout the wooden gallery floors to the left of the speaker system. Above them is a larger projection featuring a black-and-white photo of a group of African people; nora’s face photoshopped in color over someone else’s.
US Premiere
past Exhibitions

nora chipaumire afternow

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
Gallery space with white walls and wooden floors, featuring an installation made of red and yellow paper bags, dead leaves, American flags, trash bags, red lights, and other miscellaneous objects.
World Premiere
past Exhibitions

Keioui Keijaun Thomas Come Hell or High Femmes

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
Gallery space featuring a green wall with a golden shell necklace hanging from it and a television underneath. In the foreground are two armchairs with a tall, lit lamp in between them.
Artist Residency
past Exhibitions

Jennifer Harge / Devin Drake The FLY | DROWN Fables

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
Gallery space featuring an installation of collaged, multicolored, and multilayered tapestries hanging from the white wall on the left, along with an earthwork sculpture protruding from the wall, and more resting on white pedestals on the wooden half of the gallery floor on the right. In the background, hanging from the ceiling in between the white beams of the Wex grid, is a sculpture made of VHS video tape strings and blue light.
past Exhibitions

Jasmine Murrell Ancient Future

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
A multileveled altar draped in gold and green fabrics, featuring miscellaneous objects including a bedazzled gas mask with a curly yellow wig on top, green leafy plants, blue sneakers, a chainmail headdress, and a baby doll.
World Premiere
past Exhibitions

jaamil olawale kosoko Syllabus for Black Love

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
Photo of books on display in the Wexner Center Store that are included in curator jaamil olawale kosoko’s Syllabus for Black Love Library.
past Exhibitions

Syllabus for Black Love Library

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
Five figures, each of whom are draped in brown fabric, sit on a brown couch. The person in the center is draped in transparent brown fabric, revealing their face and dark brown skin. Their hands, which are uncovered, rest on their legs, and there are many shiny bracelets on both wrists. Above the figures, on the wall behind them, are two portraits of Black people, both of whom have flowers and leaves surrounding their heads like hair.
Artist Residency
past Film/Video

jaamil olawale kosoko and Ima Iduozee Chameleon (A Visual Album) (2022)

Fri, Jun 10, 2022 - Wed, Aug 31, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
A graphic with curved shapes in brown tones over which is the text "Portal For(e) the Ephemeral Passage"
past Special Events

Portal For(e) the Ephemeral Passage Preview Party

Thu, Jun 9, 2022
A selection of eight images from the Say Gay film series
Film/Video

Say Gay: LGBTQ+ Pride on Film

Sat, Jun 11, 2022
Artist Keioui Keijaun Thomas performing Comme Hell or High Femmes at Performance Space New York. Her shoulders are bare, and there are two separate lines of floral-shaped rhinestones on her chest. On top of her head, she wears a plastic bag with the handles tied. The entire room is bathed in blue light.
Columbus Premiere
past Performing Arts

Keioui Keijaun Thomas Come Hell or High Femmes: The Journey of the Dolls

Sat, Jun 11, 2022
Nile Harris (left) and jaamil olawale kosoko (right) embracing one another. Harris’s face and body are covered with shimmery brown fabric. kosoko—who has dark brown skin and silver, gold, and brown gems on their bare shoulder, neck, and chest—is leaning their bare head on Harris’s chest.
Artist Residency
Stream
past Performing Arts

jaamil olawale kosoko the hold

Fri, Jun 17, 2022 - Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Multiple Dates/Times Available
The words “ALL DAY BLACKNESS” in large, white text on top of a green background with pink and orange emanating from the top corners. Behind the text are faint white lines pointing outward from the center.
Stream
past Talks & More

All Day Blackness

Sat, Jun 18, 2022
Artist Jaamil Olawale Kosoko stands on a stage with a pink fabric backdrop, wrapped in a gray silk sheet, wearing a metallic gold scarf, bejeweled crocheted beanie and gloves with bangle bracelets. In his left hand he holds what appears to be a rifle wrapped in sequined fabric
Read, Watch & Listen

Jaamil Olawale Kosoko: The magic of melanin and a space for healing

Mon, Nov 09, 2020
Artist Jaamil Olawale Kosoko stands on a stage, wearing sunglasses, a long Afro wig and a sequined robe and pants, raising his hands in the air, with a giant image of a disco ball in the background
Read, Watch & Listen

In Practice Q&A: Jaamil Olawale Kosoko

Thu, Nov 05, 2020
Gallery room with brown pillows scattered throughout the carpeted floor and projectors on the back and side walls. The projector in the back features an up-close shot of two Black people whose lips are separated by a small space, where blurred greenery can be seen in the background. The person on the left has dark hair above their lip, and the person on the right has glossy lips. The side-wall projectors feature three Black people surrounded by green foliage.
Read, Watch & Listen

WexCast: jaamil olawale kosoko on Syllabus for Black Love

Wed, Aug 10, 2022

Organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts and curated by jaamil olawale kosoko in collaboration with all of its programming departments.

PORTAL FOR(E) THE EPHEMERAL PASSAGE MADE POSSIBLE BY:
National Endowment for the Arts

EXHIBITIONS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Bill and Sheila Lambert
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Carol and David Aronowitz
Crane Family Foundation
Mike and Paige Crane

FREE GALLERIES MADE POSSIBLE BY
American Electric Power Foundation
Adam Flatto
Mary and C. Robert Kidder
Bill and Sheila Lambert

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR FREE GALLERIES PROVIDED BY
CoverMyMeds
PNC Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
The Wexner Family
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Ohio Arts Council
American Electric Power Foundation
L Brands Foundation
Adam Flatto
Mary and C. Robert Kidder
Bill and Sheila Lambert
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Pete Scantland
Axium Packaging
CampusParc
CoverMyMeds
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
President Kristina M. Johnson and Mrs. Veronica Meinhard
Nancy Kramer
Huntington
Lisa Barton
Johanna DeStefano
Russell and Joyce Gertmenian
Liza Kessler and Greg Henchel
Ron and Ann Pizzuti
Joyce and Chuck Shenk
Bruce and Joy Soll
Jones Day